updated 02:14 pm EDT, Tue October 30, 2012

Play Store approaches Apple's App Store total

Google has revealed that its Play Store app marketplace now hosts about 700,000 applications. The growth in the number of Android apps available in Google's central repository means that the search giant's app marketplace now approaches Apple's in terms of sheer scale. Google also recently announced that its Play Store had crossed the 25 billion mark for total apps downloaded.

Google has yet to make an official announcement on the number of apps in the Play Store. Instead, Bloombergbroke the news yesterday. Bloomberg also noted that Google's approaching the 700,000 mark brings it close on the heels of Apple, which announced last week that its iOS App Store held some 700,000 apps.

The total number of apps available for a platform is seen as an indicator of the overall health of the platform. Microsoft has assured potential customers and developers that its Windows Store will hit the 100,000 mark by the end of February. Apple maintains that its App store remains the most lucrative for developers, having paid out $6.5 billion to app makers since its introduction in 2008.